The Mahila Samakhya programme was initiated in 1989 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the Department of Education. It was born out of the New Education Policy of 1986, which stressed the need for an intervention to create gender equality through women’s education.The programme is currently being implemented in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Mahila Samakhya views education as a tool for empowering women. To Mahila Samakhya education does not mean merely imparting literacy, but building awareness and skills in women, so as to affect change in their lives and society.

Mahila Samakhya seeks to bring about a change in the perceptions of women and of society of the traditional roles of women.

This involves enabling women, especially those from socially and economically marginalised groups, to address and deal with the problems they face–of isolation, lack of self confidence, oppressive social customs, and the struggle for survival–all of which inhibit their learning.